Steers received his AB degree in Microbiology in 1959 and his PhD in Molecular Biology in 1963 from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and joined the staff of the National Institutes of Health (1963–1994).

Recruited out of graduate school by Nobel Laureate (Chemistry) Christian B. Anfinsen, Steers learned his research skills working alongside one of the world's leading biochemists.

[2] From 1966 to 1986 Steers served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the George Washington University School of Medicine.

[4] His book Blood on the Moon alleges that the Confederate Secret Service was intimately involved with John Wilkes Booth ultimately leading to the assassination of President Lincoln.

Among his honors, Steers was elected to American Men and Women of Science, and as a Fellow in the Company of Military Historians.